Race and ethnicity remain salient topics in the U.S. today—and particularly so with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and the election of Donald Trump to the presidency. In this course, students will learn how these issues have developed over time and affect us today. We will begin with a brief history of the rise of the race concept, followed by a look at how racial/ethnic categories are formed and transformed over time. Students will then learn about immigration to the U.S. and its impact on notions of race and ethnicity. In the second half of the course, we will address subtopics including interracial marriage, residential segregation, and race/ethnicity in the U.S. criminal justice system. For their semester project, students will apply their knowledge of race and ethnicity to analyze a social issue in Philadelphia.